Merry-go-round



M. HAUG MERRY-GO-ROUND 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 9, 1961 Filed Nov. 19, 1957 QN E Nw ma M. HAUG MERRY-GO-ROUND May 9, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 19, 195'? May 9, 1961 Filed Nov. 19, 1957 M. HAUG MERRY-GO-ROUND 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 M. HAUG MERRY-GO-ROUND May 9, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 19, 1957 ilnited tates Patent MERRY-GO-ROUND Mathias Haug, Memmingen, Bavaria, Germany, assigner to Kaspar Klaus, Memmingen, Bavaria, Germany Filed Nov. 19, 1957, Ser. No. 697,401 Claims priority,happlication Germany Nov. 30, 1956V 12 Claims. (Cl. 272-36) The invention Irelates to a merry-go-round having tower which carries a vertically displaceable cradle.

In a known construction of this type, the cradle is provided With a platform or with arms or thelike, carrying seating means. These seating means rotate about the tower. The cradle is vertically displaceable in order that the seating means may be lifted during the operation of the merry-go-round, and devices may be provided for permitting the falling back of the cradle with the seating means to a certain adjustable degree.

If the tower is positioned vertically, the lifting movement of the cradle is superposed on the rotating movement of the` seatingfacilities about the vertical axis of the tower. It is, however, alsoy possible to arrangethe tower in such manner that it is inclined, so that the seating facilities are lifted and' lowered on simple rotation about the4 longitudinal axis of the tower, in accordance wit-h the inclinationthereof. The` liftingmovement of the cradle is then superposed onv this movement.l

According to the invention there is provideda merrygo-round providedwith a towery carrying la vertically displaceable cradle attachedlto which are al platform, arms or the like provided with seating means, the seating means being adapted to, be rotated about` the tower and the ,tower being adapted to be'ltilted about a horizontal axis4 during operation,`

'I'hus the initial position of the-tower maybevertical, the tower then being inclined relativelyA to the said vertical initial position during operation ofA` the merry-goround, i.e. during the rotationof theseating means, Tilting movements of a tower which is arranged per, se in` an inclined manner arealso possible. Iny consequence of these steps according to the invention,y the etfectof a merry-go-roundv of this nature is` increased, since there are now altogether three possibilitiesv of movement for the seating means.

According to a preferred embodiment, the; axis of rotation is vertical in the inoperative positiom ThisV has the advantage that all seating means can be reached' when the merry-go-round is standing still, so that special, structuresy for this purpose are notnecessary.

The horizontal axis of inclination ofthe tower is preferably positioned at the foot of the tower.

In accordance 'with a further feature of the invention, the lifting movemcntof the cradle on the tower i s coupled with the tilting movement of the tower.. Inrthis manner, the drivel means of the merry-go-round. for the various movements are simplified, without detracting from.` the special effect of a merry-go-round of' this sort. In particular, a provision is made for coupling of the lifting movement of the cradle and the tilting movement of the tower in such manner that complete lifting of the cradle corresponds to the maximum tilt of the tower, whilst the tower stands vertically in the. lower positionof-the cradle. lf the movements are coupledl in this manner, that maximum lift of thel cradlek or of the seating facilitiesy is superposed on the maxinjrumY tilt in suchy man-ner thaty the lifting movement ofthe individual seating means during fr'L if@ rotation becomes extremely large, without it being necessary, for this purpose, to make the lift of .the angle of inclination ofthe cradle or of the tower excessively large.

The coupled movementy can be' achieved in an especially simple manner, if the cradle is provided with a guide rod system which guides the cradle during its lifting movement, on a circular path, in a vertical plane.

For this purpose, there may be provided a swivel pin at affixed distance from the horizontal axis of inclination of the tower. One end of a guide rod system engages in the swivel pin, the other thereof leading to the cradle. Thus, the cradle is compelled to travel over a circular path the vcentre of which is the swivel pin. If the distance between the said swivel pin and the vertical axis of rotation of the tower corresponds for example substantially to theV radius of the platform or to the lengthof the seat-carrying arms, thenk the result is achieved in an extremely simple manner that the plane in which the plat,- form or the seating meansV lies is'also pivoted about an axis extending, substantially in the vicinity of the Swivel pin. of the guide rods. Inv consequence, the seating means move out oftheir initial position only to a small degree in the region of the swivel pin, when the cradle is lifted andthe tower tilted. Thus. there is no danger that the seating means will, in this region, touch theground or any framework, platform or the like which may be provided, and thus no special safety precautions are necessary.

Since the cradle rotates, theinvention provides a nonrotating ring guided on the cradle and connected tothe guide rods. ln order to permit variations of angle between the guide rods and the ring, theguide rods are preferably connected in articulated manner to the ring.

The guide rods may be providedwith struts engaging in the ring at two opposite points. f

In order to give the tiltable tower according to the invention the necessary lrigidity, the inventionl provides a framework arranged on the ground for xing the distance between the horizontal axis of inclination of the tower and the swivel pin. This framework consists substantially of struts connecting the ends of the axisof inclination and the swivel pin. Furthermore, bearing blocksor the like are provided for the pivots. In order to facilitate transport of the installation, it may be expedient to make the pivots comparatively short. To this end, the pivots are, according to the invention, telescopically extensible for the purpose of increasing the rigidity of the merry-go-round. r

An especially advantageous constructionalform ofthe merry-go-round accordingto the invention is obtained if only one drive is provided for the lifting movement and for the tilting movement. rl`his. ydrive is preferably arranged in or onl the tower and constructed in such manner that it displaces the cradle yalong the tower. A drive of this type can for example consistof a pressure-medium drive, in particular a compressed air drive, disposed inside the tower. I Y

The special effect of the device according to the invention is noticeably increased if the cradle isprovided with arms swingably mounted on the cradle and adapted to be swivelled in a vertical plane. The swivelling movement of the arms can be controlled individually. A merry-go-round of this type will then have a plurality of individual possibilities for movement of the seating means,

Y which possibilities of movement can be superposed one on the other moreor less as desired. The seating means may first of all rotate about a vertical axis, as in the simplest possible mode of construction of a merry-go; round, i.e. they may rotate about the axisL of theV tower. This axis/can be tilted during the opera-tion of the merrygo-round and, in addition, al1 the seating means execute a lifting movement parallel to the axis of rotation of the tower during the operation of the merry-go-round. Furthermore, it is possible for each seating means at the end of an arm to carry out a swivelling movement about one horizontal axis on the cradle in each case, independently of the movements of the other arms.

If each arm is provided with a special pivoting device, there is added to the lifting movement of each arm, Von the one hand, the lifting movement of the cradle on the tower and, furthermore, the lifting movement of the arm ends relatively to the horizontal taking place during rotation of the arms about the tower axis.

The invention proposes in particular the provision for each arm of a separate pressure medium drive controllais supplied to the cylinder 16 via a pipe 17 which exments, the maximum swing of the arms is comparatively great. In order to prevent excessive inclination of the seating means, theinvention further proposes to arrange the seating means in swingably suspended cars. Damping devices are provided on each car for the purpose of damping the oscillating movements.

It has been shown to be advantageous to position the suspension system for the cars behind the seats of the cars, so that the lield of vision is not interrupted by-the arms. In this connection, it is expedient to arrange the seats in pairs side by side.

The invention is illustrated, merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a front view, partially in section, of a merrygo-round according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section through the merry-go-round shown in Fig. l, along the line Il--ll;

Fig. 3 is a view of the merry-go-round according to the invention in a different position;

Fig. 4 is a section through a strut of the guide rod system along the line IV-IV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section through a strut of the frame taken along the line V--V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged representation of a detail of the merry-go-round according to the invention;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a car arrangement; and

Fig. 9 is a lateral view of a swingably suspended car.

Referring to the drawings, a merry-go-round cornprises the baseplate carrying a horizontal tilting pivot 2 at the foot at the tower 5. The tilting pivot is mounted in a pedestal 3 and carries the floor plate 4 of Athe tower by means of the bearings 4. The lower portion 6 of the tower 5 is conically widened, in order to increase rigidity and to provide space for the means for rotating the tower. The tower rotates on a plurality of rollers 7, mounted in the frame 8' of the conical portion 6 in which is also mounted a gear wheel -8 which meshes with a pinion 9 driven by a motor 10. The motor, which may also be provided with a reduction gear, is secured to the oor plate 4. A pivot bearing 12 is supported from the conical portion 6 of the tower by struts 11, the bearing 12 receiving a vertical rotary shaft 13 which is secured at 14 on the iloor plate 4. Thus, if the motor 16 is switched on, the pinion 19 rotates the gear 8 `and with it the conical portion 6 with the tower 5, which thus rotate about the vertical axis 15.

Provided in the interior of the tower 5 is a compressed air cylinder 16 which is rigidly connected with the tower 5. Instead of this cylinder 16, it is possible to provide a plurality of separate cylinders or also toV do without a separate cylinder and to construct the interior or" the tower 5 as a compressed air cylinder. Compressed air tends from the interior of the shaft 13 to a source not shown. The corresponding articulations in the pipe 17, which are necessary in consequence of the rotational movement of the tower, are not shown. It is also possible to provide in the interior of the tower a further container for compressed air, but this container is also not shown. lt would also be conceivable to dispose the means for the generation of compressed air in the tower itself.

lf compressed air is introduced into the part 18 of the cylinder 16, beneath the piston 19, the latter is upwardly displaced. The periphery of the piston 19, is provided with a packing. The piston 19 carries with it a piston rod 20 which carries at its upper end a plate 2l at the periphery of which there are secured tie rods 22 which carry a cradle 23. If the cylinder 16 is positioned lower down, in such manner that the upper end of the cylinder corresponds substantially with the upper end of the cradle in the lower position thereof, then. the arrangement of the plate 21 and the tie rods 22 can of course be relinquished.

At the lower end of the cradle illustrated in Fig. l, isV a ringl 24 which follows the vertical movement of the cradle 23 but does not follow the rotationalrnovement of the tower 5 and of the cradle 213. As is apparent from Fig. 2, there are provided on the ring 24 two oppositely-positioned bolts 25 and 25 to each of which one strut 27 and 27 is articulated. These struts are con- Vstructed in the manner of a lattice work as shown for positioned on the gro-und by being secured at one end to the base plate 1 by being mounted about the tilting pivot 2 and secured to a bearing block 3i) at the other end by being mounted about swivel pin 29 secured in the bearing block. It will be seenfrom Fig. 5 that kthe struts 28 and 28' are also of the lattice work type. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide diagonal struts (not shown) between the ends in each case of the struts 28 and 28. The same thing can be done between the struts 27 and 27. The swivel pin 29 carries a tube 30 to'which the struts 27 and 27 of the guide-rod system of the ring 24 are secured.

If the cradle 23 is now lifted in the upward direction by means of the cylinder 16, the bolts 25 and 25 travel over a circular path, about the pin 29 and to the point 31 shown in Fig. l. During this movement, the tower swivels about its tilting pivot 2 and attains the position shown in Fig. l with dot and dash lines.

p Secured to the cradle 23 are the arms 32 carrying the cars 69. As is apparent from Fig. 1, the Vpoint of suspension of theV cars 69 from the arm 32'is designated 34.

l During the tilting movement ofthe tower 1,'the car shown on the left-hand side in Fig. l travels upwardly, so that the suspension point 34 Vis reached, but the car shown on the right-hand side in Fig. l moves only very slightly during the 4tilting of the tower and the suspension point reaches the point 34'; the presupposition for this, however, is lthat the position of the arm 32 relatively to the cradle 23 remains unaltered.

If the tower rotates about the inclined axis 15, the cars move in a plane formed by the points 34 and 34". Thus, the cars carry out an upward and downward movement relatively to the horizontal with each rotation, although the position of the arms'32 relatively to the cradle 23 remains unchanged. The arms 32 are caused to carry out pivoting movements relatively to the cradle 23. This is in particular apparent from Fig. 3. If the arms are upwardly swung about their pivot 40 on the cradle 23, the suspension points of the cars on the arms rotate in the plane `formed by the points 3'4"' and 34. Thus, the cars can be lifted at a maximum as far as the suspension point 34, whilst their lower point is provided by the position 34'. A swivelling range of this nature can be achieved only with diiculty by the swivelling drive of the arms on the cradle itself.

As is apparent in particular from Figs. 6 and 7, the

cradle consists of an upper ring 35 and a lower ring.36

connected together by vertical struts 37. By this means,`

42 there is also provided an upper boom comprising the l rods 44, 44 and 45 and 45 connected together at the points of intersection 46, 46 and suppo-rted, via the struts 47 and 47 in the point of intersection 42 on the tube-43 or on the lower boom. The points of intersection 46 and 46 are also connected together by means of a transverse strut 48.

0n the lower side of the point of intersection 42 is a pivot 49 which is engaged by the piston rod 50 of the cornpressed air cylinder 51. The piston of this cylinder is designated by 52. The compressed air cylinder 51 is pvotally mounted on the 'lower ring 36 'at 53 and is supplied with compressed air through a compressed air pipe 54. When compressed air, fed through the pipe54, acts on the piston 52, the entire arm is lifted in the upward direction, whereas it is downwardly swivelled when pressure is released in the compressed air cylinder.

For guiding the cradle, rollers 55 and 56 are provided in the upper and lower ring, the said rollers running in rails 57 or the like on -the outer walls of the tower 5. The rails prevent twisting of the cradle relatively to the tower.- It is expedient to form the upper and the lower ring polygonally, for example octagonally or as dodecagons, so that a corresponding number of arms canbe secured in -a simple manner.

On the lower end of the cradle or of the lower ring 36 is an annular groove 58 for receiving the ring 214. As mentioned, this ring carries, at two oppositely-positioned points, the bolts 25 and 25', upon which the struts 27 or 27 are mounted. The ring 24 is supported in the annular groove 58 by an arrangement of rollers designated 59, 60 and 61 and running in the lower ring 36 of the cradle 23.

The compressed air feed to the cradle for actuating the cylinder 51 is effected via an extensible pipe (not shown) extending parallel to the cylinder 16 in the tower. From here, the pipe 62 leads, via one of the struts 22, to the upper ring 35 and then via the pipe 63 to the tube 43. This tube serves, on the one hand, as a pipe line, and, on the other hand, as an air storage container. Via a control device which can be operated from each car, the pipe 64 can be utilized for energizing piston 52, the said pipe 64 leading via the pipe section 65 in the arm 23 to the connecting point 54 of the compressed air cylinder 51.

The construction of the car is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The ends of the upper booms 45 and 45 are welded to the tube 43. The interior of the tube is closed by a plate 67, and a bolt 66 is pvotally mounted at the outer end of the tube. Suspended on the bolt 66 is the frame 68 of the car 69. The said car has two seats 70 and 71 placed side by side. For each seat, a control stick 72 arranged on a common shaft 73 is provided. The shaft acts on a valve 74 which controls a pipe 75. This pipe 75 connects the interior of the tube 43 at 76 to a pipe 78 or 64 (Fig. 6). The car furthermore has a foot-rest 79, an elevator 81 and side rudder 80.

It is expedient to mount the bolt 66 in freely rotatable manner in the end of the tube 43, so that the car is able to adjust itself in accordance with the centrifugal force. It is true that the centre of gravity of the car will not lie directly beneath the bolt 66, but in front of this bolt, but this has no eifect on the adjustment of the car in accordance with the centrifugal force. Diagrammatcally indicated at 83 is a damping device which damps the oscillating movement of the car about the bolts 66.

Although, in the illustrated constructi-onal example', the compressed air feed to the individual compressed a-ir cylnders and to the cylinders 5l. and to the cylinder 16 is directly controlled, it is also possible to effect this control indirectly by means of relay valves. The mode of operation of the device according to the invention is not impaired if this is done nor is it impaired if the one or other illustrated arrangement is varied. Thus for example the pneumatic devices described can be replaced by hydraulic, mechanical or electrically driven devices.

What I claim is:

1. A merry-go-round comprising a tower mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis, means mounting the tower adjacent its base for tilting movement in a vertical plane about a horizontal tilting axis, an axially slidable cradle mounted on the tower for rotation therewith, seating means projecting radially from the cradle, and means having a xedlength connecting the cradle to a fixed location radially spaced from the tower base to cause tilting of the tower upon slidable movement of the cradle.

2. 'Ihe invention as set forth in claim l, in which the tilting axis of the tower is at the base of the said tower.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2, including a guide frame for the cradle mounted on the tower to glide the said cradle during its axially slidable movement.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 2, in which the means having a xed length connecting the cradle to xed location includes a guide rod mounted at one end on the cradle, and a swivel pin positioned a xed distance from the horizontal tilting axis of the tower in substantially the same plane as the tower tilting axis and engaged by the the other end of the guide rod. n

5. The invention as set forth in claim 4, wherein the distance between the swivel pin and the tilting axis corresponds substantially to the radial distance of the seating means from the longitudinal axis.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 4, including a relatively rotatable ring mounted on and about the cradle, the said ring being pvotally connected with the guide rod.

7. The invention according to claim 6, in which the guide rod includes a pair of struts pvotally engaging the ring at diametrically opposite sides thereof.

8. The invention as set forth in claim l, including arms pvotally mounted on the cradle and supporting the seating means, and swingable in `a vertical plane, and means to separately control the respective swinging movements of the arms.

9. The invention as set forth in claim 8, wherein the means to separately control the respective swinging movements of the arms is controllable from the said seating means on the arm.

l0. A merry-go-round according to claim 1, including means mounted on the tower for moving the cradle axthe tower stands vertically.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 935,239 Schmidt Sept. 28, 1909 2,239,542 Stanzel Apr. 22, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 348,690 France Feb. 17, 1905 

